Father of Shani, murdered at Nova, attacked at the market in Acre: "It could have ended much worse"

Nathan Kuperwasser, father of Shani Kuperwasser (of blessed memory), who was murdered at the Nova festival, was caught in a severe violent incident last Saturday at the market in the Old City of Acre. According to him, two young men attacked him with punches and even tried to set a pit bull on him following a confrontation between dogs. "The ego was hurt, but thinking back, it's good that I didn't try to fight back. It could have ended much worse," he recounted in a conversation with N12. The two suspects were arrested and their detention was extended.

It was supposed to be a relaxing Saturday afternoon walk. Around 14:00, Kuperwasser, a resident of Haifa, arrived at the market in the Old City of Acre along with relatives and his dog, a small Schnauzer. They walked through the alleys of the market towards the port, until a stray dog, without a leash or collar, according to him, attacked his dog.

"I tried to push it away," Kuperwasser said. "I moved it to the side, maybe I made a slightly stronger movement to get it away from my dog. And then two brothers arrived, giants, over one meter ninety, with a pit bull. They tried to set their pit bull on me. Luckily, it didn't listen to them."

"There were curses and spitting, that was the verbal communication," he said. A moment later, the two began to hit him. "I received a few good punches until I managed to get out of there," he described.

Kuperwasser and his relatives tried to move away from the place, but the incident did not end there. "I already thought I had reached a safe place and called the 100 emergency center to report it. While I was talking to the operator, it turned out that they were chasing me and continued the attack."

According to him, the whole incident lasted a few minutes, but the feeling inside the market alleys was threatening. "Lots of locals around and you don't know where it's going. It's lucky that I retraced my steps and didn't try to get involved or get caught in some dark corner," he described.

Despite the punches he sustained, Kuperwasser did not require medical treatment. When a paramedic asked to check him, he refused and preferred to go to the police station to file a complaint. According to him, only a bruise remained on his body.

Police in Acre opened an investigation. According to the police, the two suspects, residents of the Old City of Acre in their 20s, were located following investigative actions, intelligence, and documentation from cameras in the area. Early in the morning, station detectives, YAMAS fighters, YASAM teams, and patrol officers raided their homes and arrested them. At the end of their interrogation, they were imprisoned, and the court extended their detention until September 7.

Kuperwasser said he was surprised by the pace of the investigation. "I didn't believe they would be able to reach them so quickly. I was at the police and saw the efficiency and the technology. They probably have videos from the shops and the area. Everything is documented from every possible angle. From the moment we entered the market, through the attack, our escape, and their pursuit. As if we were stars in a movie."

The investigator, according to him, even refrained from asking him to identify the suspects for fear that an uncertain identification would harm the case. "She told me - everything is seen on the cameras, you can only do harm if your identification is not certain."

Despite what he went through, Kuperwasser asks not to paint the attack in nationalistic colors. "It's not that suddenly because of what happened, all Arabs are murderers. I have many colleagues from the sector. Such things should be judged on their own merits. These are pure criminals."

But he has a sharp message ahead of the continuation of the proceedings: "I hope that the punishment imposed will be according to the potential of what could have happened, and not according to the fact that I was not seriously injured. I am talking to you from home and not from a hospital, but it could have ended differently. They tried to set a pit bull on me." To the Old City of Acre, at least in the near future, he does not intend to return.

Nathan's eldest daughter, Shani Kuperwasser (of blessed memory), 27, from Haifa, was murdered in the massacre at the Nova festival. Shani was a graduate of Unit 8200 and a graduate of economics studies at Ben-Gurion University. Shani also continued to a master's degree and was a teaching assistant highly valued by students. She left the festival with her friends on the morning of the attack. Around 7:30, they found shelter in a roadside bomb shelter near Re'im.

Hamas terrorists arrived at the scene, threw grenades, and fired at those hiding. For four days, her family lived in uncertainty, until her body was identified. She left behind her parents Diana and Nathan, her brother Erez, her sister Lotem, and her partner Ohad.